Brother and sister twins making their way to L.A. and separated after a bus crash will set the scene for "Twelfth Night," opening Friday at the Camarillo Skyway Playhouse.

"My main intention was to find a setting wherein the twins, Sebastian and Viola, would find themselves as complete aliens, unused to the new world they have found themselves in," said Jessica Lynn Verdi, of Los Angeles, director of the show. "Not to mention, their traumatic struggle with loss and overcoming circumstances was an important factor."

Skyway's production of the Shakespeare play takes place in the golden era of Hollywood as the siblings search for their silver-screen dreams.

"Viola, assuming her brother was killed in the wreck, is now forced to make her way alone," Verdi said.

Viola decides to conceal her identity and present herself as a man to the major movie star Duke Orsino.

"Orsino is in hot pursuit of his co-star, the beautiful Countess Olivia, whose brother and father recently passed away," Verdi said. "It is for this reason that she has decided to refuse all suitors, including the lovesick Orsino."

Viola, who now goes by Cesario, quickly wins Orsino's trust and is thereby tasked with wooing Olivia for him. Humorous plot twists ensue.

"True to Shakespearean form, just as things begin to seem impossibly tangled as we near the end, we have all the sudden found everything neatly unraveled and in its right place," Verdi said.

The show features 15 cast members, most from Ventura County.

Kelly Whitaker, of Camarillo, is playing the part of Olivia.

"It has been an absolute pleasure playing this role," said Whitaker, 24. "Olivia is one hell of a woman. She sets her sights on what she wants from the beginning and refuses to let go. She is a bit of a diva, but with a deeply romantic and passionate side."

Whitaker added that her goal is to make people laugh.

"This really is such a funny play, and the absurdity of the whole situation makes it really accessible," she said.

Brian Robert Harris, of Canoga Park, will portray the character Malvolio.

"He's very pompous, proper to the point of being obnoxious," said Harris, 33. "They refer to him as being a Puritan, which in Shakespeare's day were the guys who were shutting all the theaters down because they thought they were immoral, so that gives you a sense of how Shakespeare viewed him."

Harris said it's fun to play the bad guy.

"He's such a universal archetype: that cranky, uptight stuffed shirt," the play's Malvolio said. "He could be your boss or your brother or whatever. That's what makes his part of the story relatable."

The characters in "Twelfth Night" aren't exactly the best of humanity, but theater isn't just about the best in humanity, Harris said.

"Sometimes it's about the worst," he added. "And sometimes the worst is really, really funny."